These Stones Need Our Help! Adopt a Stone or Cemetery!  The Stones that tug at my heartstrings the most, or "Autumn's Pet Stones":       One of the things I would like to do is put some restoration efforts back into our pioneer cemeteries, stones that tell the stories of our early American heritage. Proper restoration must be done by professionals and it isn't cheap (an average of $200 per stone). Old cemeteries need cleaned up and mowed but often lack funding. I plan to use some funding from cemetery tours to slowly but surely restore some of these magnificant historical markers in stone. If you would like to help, please contact me about donations for restoration and upkeep, or click the "donate" button below the stones you would like to help the most!

Scotch Thistle Society Stone, Springdale Cemetery, Madison, IN The picture on the left and the picture above are the two pieces of the Scotch Thistle Society memorial stone, erected in 1857 in Springdale Cemetery. Note the crumbling base and the spire on the ground. The spire has the flower of Scotland, the thistle, engraved on it. The Ohio Valley Celtic Society has kindly offered to bring pipers and assist with an unveiling ceremony if and when I can have this stone properly restored. The Scotch Thistle Society (sometimes called the Scots Thistle Society) was a very old organization which started in the 1700s as a benevolent society that helped Scottish immigrants. What was left of the society disbanded in the 1970s, as there was no further need for it. Tours of the cemetery will help but are a slow process due to liability, business and personal expenses, etc. Donations specifically for its restoration can be made below, with a full 100% going directly toward restoration efforts of this stone.

Jesse Spann, Scout for the Revolution, Craig Cemetery UPDATE:   STONE RESET AND CLEANED!    THANK YOU, MADISON VIETNAM VETS!!! Jesse Spann, Scout in the American Revolution, came to the Northwest Territory of present-day Madison/Jefferson County, Indiana from the Spartanburg, SC area.  His stone was pitched forward and filthy.    A mere week after talking to Nick Schultz at a ceremony honoring Revolutionary War veterans at the Underwood cemetery, the Madison Vietnam Vets reset and cleaned Jesse Spann's stone in the Craig Cemetery. Those guys are awesome. I've left the donation button specifically for funds to enable this group of Vietnam Vets of Madison to continue in their worthy efforts. We'll call it the "Jesse Spann Memorial Fund" for all servicemen this group restores the stones for. 100% of all donations made to this fund will go directly to the Vietnam War Vets for further restoration. Thank you, Madison Vietnam Vets, firstly for your service, and  secondly for honoring those who served before you.

Steve Clark, USMC, Vietnam War, setting stone